The Road Ahead
by goldgirlbomb
Summary: Nathan and Molly are living happily off the Sirius, but that won't last long when a notorious pirate group start attacking towns, including the one they now reside in!
1. Chapter 1

"So, what is it that we're cooking for tonight again?" Molly asked as she glanced over her shoulder at her husband, as she chopped up vegetables.

Nathan came over and inspected her work. "Beef and vegetable soup." He wrapped his arms around her as she continued chopping, giggling as his lips tickled her ear.

Earlier that year, the Sirius crew had decided to take some time off from pirating and to try to live normal lives for a while. They had all decided to settle on a remote island out past Yamato, and live quietly for a while. The agreement was that they'd live quietly for a year and a half, and would then return back to the Sirius. Some trouble had come up with the navy, a couple of villages had been pillaged by a group of pirates, and all eyes pointed immediately to the Sirius, despite their innocence on the subject. They all decided that they needed to lay low for a while before sailing again.

Molly and Nathan were thrilled at the idea, having been married for two years at that point, and wanting a little peace and quiet. They had all become very close with each other during their time on the Sirius, so they hadn't wandered too far from one another. She and Nathan lived further up in the woods, but a fifteen minute walk down the road lived Russell and Eduardo, who had roomed together to save on costs. Across the street from them, Christopher had opened up a small treatment clinic and worked as the town's doctor, as small as the town was. Thomas lived in a small cabin nearby, and often worked at Christopher's clinic in his spare time. Morgan, unable to adjust to town life quite as easily as the others had, traveled around the island and didn't really have one particular place that he stayed for a long length of time. He'd pop in around once a week though for a meal.

Molly and Nathan enjoyed their little house in the woods, and as it was conveniently located, whenever she did miss the ocean from time to time, she'd walk the path she'd made out to the ocean. Nathan would often join her, as his heart still partially belonged to the sea as well. They'd sit out on the beach and gaze out into the sunset, watching as the sea swallowed up the sun, as it had always done when they lived on the sea. Nathan had become quite the woodsman since the two started living in their cabin. Nathan would go out several times a week to cut up wood for their fireplace. Though Molly would never tell him, she'd often just stare at him out the kitchen window as he cut the firewood, admiring. He'd caught her several times staring at him, but would just smile up at her.

They quite often cooked large meals and gathered the group together, a tradition they still kept and would likely never die out. While Nathan was still the cook of the house, Molly's skills in the kitchen had improved considerably. Not too long ago, in fact, she solely cooked the meal for their weekly gathering, and had earned much praise from it.

That night in particular was another one of their weekly meals, and Nathan had suggested soup since the weather was starting to get colder. He held her in his arms as she continued chopping vegetables diligently. He nibbled at her shoulder, sending a quiver through her belly that instantly sent her mind into a fog. She shook her head and playfully slapped at his arm.

"I'm chopping here."

Nathan chuckled. "So?"

"Everyone will be here in a few minutes."

"I direct you to my previous question… So?" He said as his fingers traced lines up and down her arms. He pressed a kiss to her neck right where he knew would make her melt in his arms almost instantly. Which, to his credit, did. She placed the knife on the counter and leaned back into his chest.

She turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Because I don't think you want to start something you can't finish right now."

Grinning mischievously at her, he tightened his grip around her waist. "Who says I couldn't?"

She pressed a kiss to his lips and stood on her tip-toes, pressing her lips up to Nathan's ear. Feeling as his skin rose into goose bumps as her lips rubbed his ear.

"Later," She whispered, "after everyone leaves."

"Later." Nathan replied as she released him and turned back to finish chopping. Nathan went over to the soup sitting on the stove and stirred the mixture around as Molly chopped up her remaining vegetables, and went over to toss them into the mixture.

She went over and grabbed the pitcher of tea she had made, walking over to the table and placing it in the center. As she looked up, Russell and Eduardo entered through the front door. They shook off their coats and walked over to Molly.

"How's it going? What's for dinner?" Russell asked as he went over to Molly and patted her on the back and held his arm out for his hug. Russell had gotten much softer than he had in years previous, and he actually showed quite a soft spot for Molly, he treated her almost as a younger sister. Despite how much he would tease her. Then again, all of the guys absolutely loved teasing her, so Molly had gotten used to it. He half hugged her and went and sat down at the table.

"Beef and vegetable soup." Molly said before Eduardo walked over and pinched her cheek.

"You being a pain in the ass still?" Eduardo asked as he gently squeezed her cheek.

"It's only been a week since I saw you last, you know."

He laughed. "I know, but I like keeping you on your feet."

Eduardo released her cheek and his head flew forward as Nathan stepped forward and slapped the backside of his head. "Sit your ass down and behave yourself for once."

Eduardo winced as he rubbed the back of his head. "I was just teasing her you know."

"Don't care. Sit down, shut up, and eat." He barked at Eduardo, despite the satisfied grin on his face. Eduardo slumped down into the chair next to Russell as Thomas and Christopher came in through the door. The room became clustered as everyone greeted one another and gathered around the table as Nathan and Molly started bringing in the food. Morgan always showed up later than the others did, so they didn't necessarily feel guilty when they started in on their meal.

Thomas took a sip of the soup and threw a thumbs up in the air. "Just as usual, Nathan's cooking is awesome."

"Agreed. Well done Nathan." Russell said in between shovels full of food. Nathan shook his head at Russell and grabbed Molly's hand underneath the table, smiling as her face visibly flushed.

Molly looked down the table at Christopher. "How's the clinic doing?"

Smiling, Christopher nodded his head and swallowed. "Good. A bit slow lately, but with the colder weather coming in I know it'll pick back up."

"I haven't been able to work in the clinic as often lately." Thomas pouted. Thomas seemed to enjoy helping Christopher on his time off. He worked as a clerk at one of the store's in town most of the time, but preferred to spend what time he could at Christopher's clinic.

Eduardo nodded over at Molly. "Hey, by the way. I've got some clothing that could use some mending. I brought them with me."

"They need stitching?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, well if you'll leave them here I'll fix them and bring them back to you tomorrow when I go into town."

Eduardo took a sip from his drink. "Fine. Just hurry up with them if you can."

Russell elbowed Eduardo. "Quit being so bossy. She's nice enough to fix them for you without complaint." Nathan, who had frowning at Eduardo, relaxed in his chair at Russell's comment. He leaned back in his chair and squeezed Molly's hand below. She smiled up at him as the rest of the group continued talking and eating.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and Morgan stepped inside. The group cheered upon his arrival and he laughed as he sloughed off his coat. Nathan released Molly's hand as he got up and went into the kitchen. Morgan walked over to behind Molly's chair and leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

"Always kiss the hostess." He chirped happily as he quickly ran over to his chair at the other end of the table, seeing Nathan coming back towards the table. Nathan had a glass in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other and handed them to the smiling Morgan. He sang his approval as he snatched both out of Nathan's hands and poured himself a drink.

Nathan rolled his eyes as he went and sat back in his chair. Molly stood up and began collecting empty dishes and walked into the kitchen to wash while the boys had their private time with one another. She knew that being the only woman in the group of pirates would invade on some of their guy time, so each week she would sneak away to the kitchen for a length of time so that they could talk and catch up.

Eduardo rolled up his sleeves and leaned back in his chair. "What's the word Captain?"

Morgan slugged back some of his rum and looked over at him. "Nothing good I'm afraid."

"What's been going on?" Thomas asked.

"There have been more attacks."

"Where?" Nathan asked, leaning forward.

"On the other end of the island."

Eduardo raised his eyebrows. "The other end of this island?"

"That's not but only a few days trip from here." Christopher said, looking visibly worried.

"What are we going to do?" Russell asked.

"Nothing we can do, I suppose. Just hope they don't find their way down here."

Nathan glanced over his shoulder at his wife in the kitchen. "Well what if they do?"

Morgan folded his arms across his chest. "Then we defend these people here the best that we can. Until help arrives. Maybe then the navy will believe that it's not us doing this. But until that happens, which I'm hoping it doesn't come down to that, you all go about your lives exactly as you have been."

"Should we tell Molly?" Thomas asked.

Nathan considered for a moment before shaking his head. "No. She'll only worry more than she needs to. I'll tell her later this week, after we're sure that they're gone."

Eduardo glanced at Nathan. "And if they're not?"

Russell pushed back into his chair. "Then we'll get them."

Nathan nodded and picked up his glass, churning the mixture inside. "Well again, let's hope it doesn't have to come to that. Captain, you'll keep us updated on what's going on?"

Morgan nodded. "Of course. And if I hear that they're heading this way, then we'll go after them."

"Agreed." The crew answered quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

Molly leaned against the door as she waved goodbye, watching as Thomas and Christopher disappeared around the bend. She closed the door and sighed as she grabbed the shirts Eduardo had left for her. Some buttons were loose and there was a tear on the sleeves of two of them. She folded them up and placed them on the chair so she'd see them in the morning to fix them. She headed back to the table to clear off the rest of the silverware. She bent down to collected the few plates that she hadn't picked up earlier. Her belly was full from all the delicious food Nathan had cooked, with her help of course. Tossing the plates into the sink, she went to grab a rag to wash them when a set of arms snaked around her waist. She giggled as Nathan spun her around into his chest. He crushed his mouth to hers and kissed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He smiled against her lips. "It's later."

She laughed again, but the sound quickly turned into a gasp as lips trailed down her face to her jaw, pressing tender kisses there, and then nipped at her neck. She lifted one leg up and wrapped it around him as his lips became more persistent against hers, parting them with his tongue. He hoisted her into the air, grasping her hips as she wrapped her legs around him. With their tongues dueling one another, he carried her over to the kitchen counter and gently placed her on top without disengaging her legs from him.

His hands rubbed against her back as her hands rubbed against his chest. She pressed herself more firmly into him, feeling what awaited her in his trousers, pressing urgently into the fabric. Just the thought of it made her flush with anticipation.

Nathan cupped her breast in one hand, toying with her mound as he continued to kiss her passionately. The feel of her against his hand made Nathan's mind go blurry as he attempted to stay in control of his own actions. God this woman had such a hold on him and she seemed to still be completely oblivious to it.

Molly ripped her lips away from his and pressed kisses against his jaw, then down to his neck. Her lips teased his neck as he released her breast and traced the small of her back with his finger. Molly loved when they could lose control with each other like this. Making love with Nathan was never dull, and each time with him felt like the first, as they discovered each other's bodies over and over again. Not to mention that by this point he had learned her body well enough to know where exactly to touch, where to kiss to send her mind into an absolute haze, and yet he still always seemed to find somewhere new to drive her wild. She was also proud to admit to herself that she felt she knew his body pretty well enough as well, and punctuated her knowing by gently nipping his earlobe.

His breath hitched as she teased the lobe in between her lips, then pressing a quick kiss to the spot behind his lobe. He pushed her back against the counter and crushed his mouth back to hers. She pushed his bandana off his head and ran her fingers through his hair. God she could never in her lifetime get enough of this man, she could spend the rest of her natural life making love to this man and it'd still never be enough.

Nathan lowered the cloth covering her chest and pressed his face between the two mounds, delving in their fragrance. She looked down at him lazily and moaned when he took one of her breasts into his mouth. Nathan watched her as her head rolled back, losing herself to the desire that he had lost himself too ages ago. Her sensitive flesh tasted sweet against his tongue as he circled the nipple. God she was beautiful, her head thrown back, whispering his name. This was one treat that he'd guard selfishly, he'd never let any other man look at her, touch her, taste her the way he was. He'd never have guessed that his love for her would have grown even stronger over the years, but it had. He released her breast and whispered her name as he kissed her chest and moved his way up to kiss her neck.

Becoming braver, she reached underneath his shirts and ran her fingers over his chest as he groaned against her lips. She savored the feel of his chest against her hands as she lazily traced a finger from the top of his chest down to right before where his trousers were. His eyes flew open and he caught her hand with his, the quivering control he'd had lost completely.

He lifted her bottom off the counter long enough for her to roughly push her skirt up and out of the way. Molly impatiently pulled at the fabric along with him, suddenly needing to feel him inside her that instant. She tossed her undergarments to the floor and went to help release him from the confines of his trousers. She gasped as his hot manhood sprang out and landed in her hands. Gently squeezing him, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"I'd never have guessed that we'd be having sex in your kitchen Nate." She whispered devilishly as she rubbed him. He pulled himself out of her hand and scooted her bottom forward, his eyelids hooded with lust for her.

Wickedly, he grinned at her as he slowly pressed himself to her entrance. "I'm full of surprises." She panted against him as he pressed himself frustratingly slowly into her. Clawing at his back, she wrapped her legs around his waist to have him penetrate her fully.

They both cried out as he filled her completely, neither daring to move as the sensation of him inside of her pulsated throughout them. Molly wrapped her arms around his neck again and whispered his name as he slowly began to thrust into her. His hips rocked against her as his finger found where they were joined and teased her. She crushed her lips to his as his finger and body did wicked things to her. Nate reveled in the sounds of pleasure that rolled through her body, causing him to increase the pace. She didn't resist him, but increased the pace still until both were panting and moaning.

She screamed as the first wave of pleasure slammed into her, scratching at his back as her toes curled. She knew she'd probably left scratch marks on his back from that, but she didn't care, as wave after wave throbbed throughout her body. Feeling her body orgasm around him, Nathan threw his head back and shouted her name hoarsely as he spilled his seed into her. The feeling was so intense that Nathan was sure that Eduardo and Russell could hear his cries from their place.

He pulsed inside of her as he continued to thrust gently into her as they gently started to float back down to earth. Pushing her back down against the counter, they both fought to catch their breath as he rested his head against her chest. Her skin was flushed pink, and his cheek met her warm skin as they held each other for a long while.

He kissed her nose as he slowly slid out of her. Tucking himself away, he scooped her into his arms and carried her into their bedroom.

"Where are we going?" She whispered, panting still.

He looked down at her, and despite the powerful orgasm she'd just had, she felt her stomach turning over on itself once again. "For round two."

Much later, they lay together tangled as Nathan held her against his chest. His fingers languidly traced up and down her back as they rested, much too spent to continue any further at that point. Molly propped herself up on her elbow to gaze down into his face. With his hair in a wild disarray on top of his head, his eyes and smile sleepy, she knew she'd never see anything more wonderful in her life.

She kissed his nose. "What were you and the guys talking about earlier?"

"Nothing really, just talking." He lied. He knew that if he told her now, she'd worry that something would happen to him and the crew, and he wanted to spare her that, if only for a few more days.

"Oh, ok. Well what are your plans for tomorrow?"

He sighed. "I have to go to the next town over for some supplies."

"What kind of supplies?"

"Stuff to help me repair that tear in the roof. What about you?"

She kissed his nose again. "I have to go into town here and pick up a couple of groceries tomorrow, and then fixing Eduardo's shirts for him."

"You shouldn't let him talk to you like that you know. He just delves into the fact that he thinks he can still boss you around."

She snuggled into his body and placed her head on his chest. "Eduardo's had a hard time adjusting to life here too. Not as badly as Captain, but he still has had a hard time."

"How can you tell that?"

"I may still be the 'newbie' with you guys, but I've paid attention. Just by some of his mannerisms I can tell. He's used to being in control, being the one steering the ship. He doesn't have that now. If he needs to boss me around a little to feel better, then I'll let him for a little while longer." Molly yawned into Nathan and soon Nathan could hear her heavy breathing from sleep. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head before finding himself drifting off softly to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Nathan had left earlier that morning and Molly found herself carrying back the few groceries that they still needed for the house. She enjoyed the mundane activities of living in a quiet town, she often missed the adventures of the sea, but it was a nice change of pace for the two of them to try to live like a normal couple would. As she was walking, her thoughts drifted back to when she first met Nathan, and just how scary he acted around her. She giggled at how terrified she used to be entering the kitchen on the Sirius, afraid he'd chop her up and cook her, or at least that's what he'd threaten.

The hike back to the house proved to be refreshing, as the cool breeze brushed against her face. The seasons were beginning to change and she could feel the cold starting to come. She welcomed it though. She liked the cold weather, and with the fireplace Nathan had put in special for them, she eagerly awaited the time when they could snuggle up next to it. With the cold weather would come snow, and she especially looked forward to that, as she hadn't really been around snow much in her life. Nathan promised that when it did start snowing, he would take her out and they'd build a snowman together. The promise might have been silly to another person, and in fact Russell had teased her about it, but it meant a lot to her.

She pushed the door open and stumbled inside with the items tucked underneath her arms. Nathan hadn't returned yet, as his stuff was still gone, so Molly started placing their groceries in their proper places. The house was quiet, and creaked under her feet as she walked across the hard wood floor. They had been quite lucky in fact when they'd stumbled across this place. When the arrangement had first been made, Nathan had immediately set out looking for a place for them to live. He'd told her he had the perfect place and had practically dragged her to the place for her to see. Of course she'd immediately fallen in love with the place and they had gotten it on the spot. It was definitely a fixer-upper though, as most of the fine furnishings that it had now weren't there just a few weeks ago.

Sliding the last of the boxes she had into the cabinet, she walked over to the chair with Eduardo's shirts still hanging on it. She grabbed the sewing kit out of the bedroom and grabbed the garments and began working. The boys would often come to her whenever they needed something like this mended. She liked that even something as silly as this, they would depend on her to help them. In all of the times that they'd helped her and done things for her, she was glad that even if it was as simple as this, she could somehow show how grateful she was to have them in her life.

It didn't take very long for her to mend them, as she folded them neatly. She felt a tad bit woozy as she bent over to collect some of the discarded thread, and steadied herself with the chair. The feeling soon passed and she shrugged her shoulders. She had gotten barely any sleep the night before, not that she was complaining in the least, but she still found herself a little bit tired. Her face flushed in recollection, and she smiled, not feeling the least bit sorry for her lack of sleep. In fact if Nathan were there at that moment, she'd probably do it all over again.

Eduardo would want his shirts back as soon as possible, so she picked the garments back up and walked through the front door, closing it shut behind her. She wasn't sure if he'd still be at home, as he worked out at port part-time, but she'd at least leave them there for him. The shirts looked as if they were his work clothes, so she knew he'd probably need them.

The wind picked up around her as she walked up to Eduardo and Russell's cabin. It was a small cabin, much smaller than her and Nathan's place, but it was just enough for the two guys. The two were hardly ever home, either working or at her and Nathan's place, so it worked for the two. The lights weren't on, and the door appeared to be locked. After knocking a few times, she figured he'd be at port working so she placed them in the crook next to their door.

She turned to head to over to Christopher's clinic to see if he needed any help. When Thomas wasn't there to help Christopher, she went over to help him with the clinic. She also quite enjoyed working there, volunteering a lot of her time there when she could. Whenever Nathan would go out on the odd job, she'd come work at the clinic. Christopher had started training her, saying that she could work there as a nurse whenever she wanted. She and Thomas often made runs around the clinic, helping to treat some of the patients whenever Christopher got busy. Molly often wished she could get some sort of formal training for it, but Christopher was a good teacher, and she had learned a lot in her time working there.

In the distance, she saw Christopher running up the road towards her. His face was red and he appeared to be out of breath.

"Hey Christopher, what's going on?"

Christopher skidded to a halt and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her towards her house. "Go home, right now. Go home, lock the door, and don't let anyone inside unless you know for a fact that's one of us. Go, right now."

She threw him a confused look as he continued to push her in the other direction. "What are you talking about?"

"They're here."

A couple of miles away, Nathan walked through the market searching for the supplies he still needed. The town that they all lived in was quite small and quite unknown to most people, so it lacked a lot of the things that would often be required of living in such a small place, and Nathan would have to trek up to the next town. The roof of his and Molly's cabin had a small hole over one of the bathrooms, and he still needed some of the nails and wood to fix it.

The town was small enough that even when he would go out on an odd job, he'd have to trek up to the next town up to get work. Since he was decently good with his hands and was an excellent cook, he was never lacking in finding some work every now and again. Most of the time he'd work in one of the deli's for some extra cash, although he and Molly didn't really require much money since they had both saved away almost all of the money they'd gotten from the last treasure the group had collected.

Thomas and Russell had gone with him for company. Being the two younger guys of the group, he thought of them almost as younger brothers. He knew he had a real brother of his own, but these guys were different. They dawdled behind him as the three of them made their way through the market, laughing about something as they followed behind him.

Nathan turned around. "Are you two even looking for the nails?"

Russell chuckled. "Sorry, no we weren't."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he turned around. "What did you two even follow me over here for then if you're not going to help?"

"Because you like us for some reason." Thomas replied, causing Nathan to laugh and shake his head.

"How are you and Molly doing at the clinic?" Nathan asked, inspecting one of the vender's materials next to him.

"Good. Molly is a natural. She's just really good with people."

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, she's great with people."

Nathan walked around the bend in the market and headed towards one of the vender's at the end, where he knew some good nails would be. The market was full of people, as this was the largest market of the entire island, so it was usually full of people. The streets were filled with the smells of the local pastry shop down the street and the sounds of people chattering away as they meandered through.

As he neared the end of the market, he noticed Morgan standing in front of one of the venders, leaned in towards the man, talking. The three men made their way towards him curiously, Nathan had figured Morgan would have been further away from here after their meal the night before.

Nathan went up next to him and patted him on the back. "Captain, what are you doing hanging around here?"

Morgan patted the vender's shoulder and turned to Nathan. "I was gathering some information. We all need to talk."

"Right now?"

"Right now." Morgan said, his voice and face both serious.

Nathan nodded as Morgan led the three men away from the market. Morgan pushed their way through the hustle and bustle of the market center, and practically dragged the men down the street towards the woods, away from the noise of the town. They turned around a corner and Morgan abruptly turned to face them. He'd looked as if he hadn't slept in days, bags forming underneath his eyes.

"I've just been talking to some of the people in this town here, seeing if they'd heard anything about the attacks."

"And?" Russell asked, stepping forward.

"The one guy I just talked to said he had some family up in the last town attacked and they told him about it. Those that survived that is… It's James and his gang. They're the ones behind all of this."

Nathan, Thomas, and Russell immediately exchanged worried glances with one another. They knew exactly who Morgan was talking about. James and some of his friends not only knew them, but had once fought side by side with them, as members of the Sirius. Many years ago, way before Nathan and Molly had ever met, James and his associates worked on the Sirius with the rest of them. Nathan and James in particular had grown to be quite strong friends during their time on board. James, however, started to become exceedingly greedy, and became more and more violent. After a major fight had broken out on deck, Morgan kicked James and all of his supporters off the ship, and told them to never return. When James asked Nathan if he would join him, Nathan had rebuked. Nathan shivered as he remembered the look James had given him when he left the ship, telling Nathan that he'd one day come after them when he'd gotten a large crew.

"Are you sure?" Thomas asked, his voice quiet.

Morgan nodded gravely. "I'm sure. From the way that this man's family described him, it's definitely him. No doubt. And he's out for blood. Our blood."


	4. Chapter 4

"Christopher, you're scaring me what's going on?" Molly asked. The ground rumbled underneath them as she could hear cannon's in the distance. The sound of another cannon exploding caused her to turn around and her eyes widened in horror. She could see as large quantities of smoke drifted up in the distance from town, hearing people screaming in the distance.

"Please let me help there's something bad going on in town!" She exclaimed, fighting against Christopher's hands.

Christopher shook her shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do but…"

"Then please do as I say and go home. Promise me that you'll go home and stay there until one of us comes to get you."

"But I can smell smoke and I can hear…"

Christopher shook her shoulder again, a little more firmly this time. "Promise me!"

Her eyes watered as she nodded grimly. "I promise."

Christopher then turned around and ran back towards town as Molly stood there for a moment longer. She trusted Christopher, so she spun around and ran up the hill back to the cabin. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled up the hill. The look that Christopher had given her alone caused her feet to fly across the ground. He'd looked angry, but also afraid, and Molly wasn't going to question that. As she reached the top of the hill in front of the cabin, she looked back towards town and covered her mouth with her hands. Fire had spread among the town, and she could make out the figures of people running around in the streets, desperate.

Tears streaked down her face as she ran inside the cabin. She ran back over to the window so she could see what was happening, completely forgetting the door altogether. The sky darkened as smoke filled it, blocking the sun. She instantly began worrying about Nathan and the boys, and whether they were alright or not. She desperately wanted to leave to go find them, but she wasn't going to break her promise to Christopher.

Distantly, she heard as the floor creaked and she stopped. She froze for a brief moment as she listened intently, and heard as the floor creaked behind her again. She reached over and grabbed one of the kitchen knives and slowly walked into the living room, where she'd heard the noise. A group of men stood in the living room, and for a brief moment, she thought that it might've been the Sirius pirates. She slowly neared them and realized as one of them turned around to look at her, that it wasn't them. A grin spread across his face as he made his way over towards her.

She held up the knife in front of her. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Well, well," the man said, his grin getting larger by the second, "I never would have imagined Nate the traitor taking a wife. But when I heard about you, I just had to stop over for a visit."

"What did you just say?" Molly could feel the color draining from her face as someone came up behind her, knocking the knife from her hand. She backed up against one of the walls as the man cornered her, his smile looking wicked.

The man grabbed her chin in his hand, squeezing. "Nathan sure knows how to pick 'em, I'll give him that much. It's a shame that the boys aren't around, but since they're not I suppose I'll settle with you. For now that is." Molly felt a shiver run down her spine as he looked down at her. She could hear the other men trashing the cabin around her.

"What… what do you want?" She repeated as she nervously licked her lip.

"My revenge on the Sirius pirates." He growled as he grabbed her by her waist, and tucked her underneath his arm as she began screaming.

Back in the next town over, Nathan, Thomas, and Russell all stood looking at Morgan, trying to figure out what they needed to do. Morgan had his arms crossed over his chest as the other three men stood silently for a moment, processing what he'd just said.

"They're out for us?" Nathan asked.

"That's what I heard. James got a large enough crew and decided that he wanted to finally take out 'his biggest competition'. Us."

"They don't know where we are?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I'm assuming that's why they're pillaging all of these towns and villages, trying to find us."

"Well what…" Russell started, but was stopped as the group heard a large booming noise off in the distance.

They all stood frozen for a moment as they listened carefully, and heard the sounds of a cannon firing, echoing through the woods. Nathan looked up to see smoke drifting up into the air in the distance, and exchanged looks between the rest of the group as he could feel the color drain from his face. The group immediately sprang into action, sprinting towards the smoke cloud forming above the place they realized was their town. Nathan dropped all of his supplies along the way as he ran alongside everyone.

"I thought they were on the other side of this island!" Russell shouted as they ran through the shortcut back to town in the woods, shoving branches and shrubs out of the way.

"Well I guess they found their way to this side!" Morgan shouted in reply over his shoulder.

They made their way through the clearing in the woods and ran into town, fire spreading amongst the buildings. People ran through the streets screaming as fire ravaged. A small group of men were gathered around the center of the village near the well, grabbing buckets of water as they scrambled to put out the fires. Nathan spotted Eduardo and Christopher helping to extinguish the flames and ran to them, skidding to a halt in front of them.

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Eduardo shouted as he threw a bucket onto some of the flames.

"What happened?" Morgan shouted.

"A ship came up to port earlier and started firing at the town. Some of the crew got off the ship and came running through here. They started setting fire to some of the buildings and then ran off to who knows where." Eduardo said as he wiped some sweat onto his shirt.

Nathan grabbed Christopher's arm. "Molly? Where's Molly?"

"I sent her home once when everything started up. She should be back at your cabin."

Nathan bent over and sighed in relief for a moment before standing back up and looked at Eduardo. "What do you need us to do?"

"Well helping to put out the rest of the fires would be a start. We had most of the towns folk run over to the next town over where they'd be safe. We're not going to be able to save all of these buildings, but we're going to try to save some of the more important ones so if you could…"

"Oh my god…Guys… look… oh god…" Thomas interrupted as he pointed in another direction, his expression stunned.

Looking in the direction that Thomas was pointing, Nathan looked up as he saw another cloud of smoke pillowing up. The rest of the group instantly looked in the same direction, watching as they could see flames mirrored in the smoke as it rose. Nathan felt his heart damn near stop when he realized where the smoke was coming from.

"Molly!" Nathan screamed as he sprinted towards his cabin.


	5. Chapter 5

The only thought in Nathan's head when he sprinted up the hill towards the cabin was that he prayed Molly was alright. He didn't care if the cabin burnt to the ground, hell let it, as long as she was ok. He could hear as the rest of the guys ran behind him, instantly dropping what they had been doing to follow after him. They reached the top of the hill and Nathan stopped briefly as he watched the cabin burning to the ground.

He leapt forward, screaming Molly's name as he ran towards the cabin, flames heating his face. Flames poured out of the few open crevices available as the rest of the group were hot on his heels behind him. They began calling out Molly's name as they rushed up to the cabin. Nathan grabbed the front door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He ran over to window and slammed his fist against it as he realized it had been boarded up, hearing as Eduardo and Russell kicked at the other doors and windows.

"They locked her inside!" Eduardo shouted as he continued to kick at one of the windows.

Russell slammed up against the wood "Those bastards!"

"Keep trying!" Thomas shouted, kicking against some of the wooden panels.

Nathan slammed his foot into one of the windows next to Eduardo until his foot went through. He yanked at some of the wood until there was a large enough space for him to crawl through, Eduardo helping him to pull away the burnt wood.

"Keep pulling at it, I'll be back! Don't let anyone else inside, this place isn't going to hold up much longer!" He shouted at Eduardo as he crawled in through the narrow opening. What was once the living room was completely ablaze as Nathan covered his mouth and made his way through, calling Molly's name out. Navigating his way through the flames, he went to kick down the bedroom door when he heard something.

"Please, Molly, please." He whispered as he waited for the noise again. The roof above him groaned and he jumped out of the way as a section of the roof caved in. He screamed her name again as he continued kicking at the bedroom door.

In the other room, Molly had just regained consciousness when she heard something collapse nearby. She opened her eyes warily as her head throbbed painfully. She rubbed her head, heat brushing up against her face. In her position lying on the floor, she peered underneath the door and could see flames dancing just outside of it. Her eyes widened and she choked on a scream. She coughed as the smoke invaded her senses. She covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve as she coughed again.

She grabbed onto the sink to help her stand up, wavering as her temple throbbed painfully. She went to open the door but the knob burned her hand. She cried out in pain as she coughed against her sleeve again, waving her hand in the air to cool it. She slammed her other fist into the door and started banging on it. She heard someone call her name out and began screaming, pounding even harder against the door. Tears of relief filled her eyes as she heard Nathan's voice call her name out just on the other side of the door.

Nathan heard Molly call his name out, and he bolted towards the bathroom. He jumped over the flames in front of it, and kicked some of them out with his shoe so he could reach the door. He instructed her to back away from the door and began kicking it down. The door splintered into two and fell to the floor as Molly stumbled forward into his arms. He gathered her in his arms and felt tears sting his eyes in relief as she squeezed him.

The structure groaned audibly and Nathan's eyes shot up as the cabin began to crumble into itself. Nathan grabbed her and pulled her alongside him back towards the opening that he had made. Eduardo had made some progress in opening up the crevice, and he could see as smoke was being sucked into the outside air. Molly stumbled as they made their way through the remains of their living room, avoiding the flames. Nathan scooped her up and crouched down in front of the opening. He squeezed the two of them out of the cabin, continuing to hold Molly in his arms, refusing to let her go.

The rest of the guys stood anxiously away from the cabin, nervously watching the cabin begin to fall apart. Eduardo had instructed them to back away from the house, as per Nathan's direction. They could see as a figure stumbled through the smoke out of the house, and cheered as they saw Nathan and Molly emerge from the cabin. Nathan ran forward with Molly in his arms as the cabin collapsed, flames engulfing the remains of their home. Molly sobbed against Nathan's shoulder as she realized that they had made it out just in time, squeezing his neck. Nathan ran until he collapsed to the ground next to the guys. He shook with relief, holding Molly against him. He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her repeatedly as she sobbed with relief against him. She grabbed his neck and cradled her head underneath his chin, grabbing a handful of his shirt in both of her hands.

"Oh thank god," he whispered as he held her, rocking her against him, "oh Molly, thank god."

Several long moments later, the group watched as the fire started to slowly burn out. They had all sat on the ground near Nathan and Molly, watching as Nathan shook viscously as he held Molly. While none of them would say, Molly had become kind of like the group's mascot, with her kind and loving nature, and they had all grown quite attached to her in their own way. They were all as equally relieved that she was alright.

"What happened?" Russell asked as he carefully came up next to the two, not wanting to detach the two from one another.

Molly turned her head against Nathan's neck and looked over at Russell. "I came back up to the house and was looking out through the window at everything going on when I heard a noise. I went to check it out, and there was a group of men in the living room. One of them came up to me and grabbed me. That was the last thing I remember. Then I woke up in the bathroom just now, my head was throbbing pretty badly. Still is."

"Did he say anything?" Russell asked gently.

"Yeah, he said something about being surprised about 'Nate the traitor taking a wife' and 'taking his revenge on the Sirius pirates'." She replied. Nathan's eyes automatically narrowed at this, and looked up at the group, fire in his eyes. James.

Molly rubbed her temple and winced. Nathan grabbed her wrist and looked down at the side of her head, noting the bruise beginning to swell up. He cursed out loud and hugged her tighter to his chest. He swore if he ever did see James again, he wouldn't go easy on him. He'd beat him to a bloody pulp if he had the chance. _No one_ would ever hurt this woman and get away with it, not while he was around.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He whispered into her ear.

"But you were there when it counted." She said gently, her usual soft and loving nature returning.

She turned against him and freed her arms from his grasp. She took her hands and cupped his head in his hands and pressed her forehead against his. She wiped a tear that had escaped from one of his eyes away, smiling softly at him. They both closed their eyes as they sat like that for a few moments before Molly pulled back to answer.

"I'm alright, thanks to you." She soothed as Christopher came up and kneeled next to them.

"We need to get out of here for right now. They might come back. Plus I want to get a better look at the bruise on your temple Molly." Christopher held out a hand to the both of them, and helped them stand to their feet. Molly wavered a little as she stood, so Nathan scooped her back up as the group made their way down to Christopher's clinic.

They had slowly made it to Christopher's clinic, and while Christopher was taking a look at Molly's temple in the other room, the rest of the guys stood about talking about what was going to happen next.

"What are we going to do?" Thomas asked.

"We're going to find them, and I'm going to kill them." Nathan growled, his arms folded across his chest.

Russell put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "As much as I'd like to agree with your plan, I don't think that it would be the smartest option right now."

"They tried to kill my wife." Nathan grumbled, trying desperately not to blow up at his friends.

Eduardo came over and leaned against the counter next to him. "I agree with Nathan. They're not going to stop until we're all dead, so we should get them before they get us. If they'd do that to a woman, you can just imagine what they have in store for us."

"We're not going to stoop to murder, that's low even for a pirate." Morgan said.

"I don't see what other option we have right now. You know exactly what they're capable of just to get us out of hiding, you've seen it." Eduardo said, raising his voice.

"We're going to help the people around here as best as we can, and then we'll deal with them as we have to. We're not going to go out and pick a fight." Morgan replied angrily, his voice rising in intervals as well.

"Sitting here with our tails tucked underneath us won't help us either." Thomas chimed in, everyone's voices getting louder with each statement. Molly and Christopher came into the room, Molly going over and standing with Nathan. Christopher nodded his head at Nathan's inquisitive look.

"What are you guys talking about?" Molly asked, her voice sounding slightly pained.

"What we're going to do. Are you alright?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. What have you guys decided?"

"Well Captain over here thinks that we should just sit around and wait for them to attack us again while those of us with a lick of sense think we should go after them." Eduardo snapped, glaring at Morgan.

Morgan sighed, trying to maintain calm. "I just don't think it's a very good idea for us to lash out at them. That's just what they want. They know we'll be pretty furious after this incident, which we damn well are, but for us to go out after them in such a way will only get us all killed. We should wait until we have a better plan and then strike when we have a more laid-out plan."

"I agree with Captain. We should come up with a better plan first." Russell said.

Russell's approval of Morgan's plan just set off a shouting match between the men. The tension in the room grew with each shout. Each plan that was proposed was immediately shot down, causing each of the men to grow angrier and angrier. Molly backed away from the group as the men's shouts grew louder and louder, not wanting to contribute to the madness. She felt bad enough that they were so upset because of something that had happened to her, but she didn't want to be part of any of this.

A sudden pain shot through Molly's abdomen, and she doubled over in pain, grabbing the counter for balance. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pain rocked through her lower body, causing her to gasp quietly in pain. Christopher immediately noticed her reaction and flew from where he'd been leaning against the wall nearby. The men continued shouting as he went over to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Molly, are you alright?"

She fought to smile up at him as the pain intensified. "I'm alright, just a little pain in my abdomen."

"That doesn't look like just a little pain."

"Really I'm alright, probably just stress. Please don't fuss over me. It's bad enough all of this is over what happened to me earlier."

"Them screaming at each other is not your fault in the least, I'm going to take you back and look at you, alright?"

Molly shook her head but grabbed his hand and squeezed as the pain hit her hard again. "Really, I'm alright, please."

Christopher's eyes widened as his gaze lowered towards her legs. "Guys shut up for a minute would you?" Nathan instantaneously stopped and hushed the rest of the guys. Christopher stood in front of Molly, so he looked over at them.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"I'm taking Molly back into the room." He said as he began ushering her.

"Please, I'm fine Christopher."

Christopher lowered his voice so only she could hear, as not to embarrass her. "Molly there's blood spreading down your thighs, please just come with me." Molly's eyes broadened and nodded as she allowed him to usher her into the room, shielding her from everyone else's gaze.

Nathan came towards them like a shot. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

Christopher held a hand out to him. "Stay out here and I'll tell you in a little bit when I figure out what's wrong." Russell came forward and held Nathan's shoulder as Christopher closed the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Nathan paced impatiently outside the door as he waited for Christopher and Molly. All arguments that the men had been having earlier ceased immediately as they all sat outside the room. They had been in the room for quite a while, and Nathan began to worry more and more with each passing minute.

Had something happened to her while she'd been in the house? Christopher had been blocking his view of Molly earlier, so he hadn't seen what was wrong. He bit his nail anxiously as he continued pacing back and forth outside of the room. Eduardo and Russell were leaned against the wall while Thomas and Morgan sat on the bench nearby.

He waved over his shoulder at the other men. "You guys don't have to stay here if you don't want. Go ahead and go home and get some rest. We'll meet up tomorrow and figure this out."

Russell shook his head. "Nope, sorry mate. She may be your wife, but she's our friend too. We're not going anywhere."

Nathan tugged the corner of his mouth into a slight smile. "Thanks."

His mind continued to race as he tried to look in through the window in the door, but Christopher had long covered that. Christopher had rushed her in so quickly he had no idea what could possibly be going on. He sighed in frustration as the time passed by slowly. He went over and leaned against the wall next to Eduardo and put his head in his hands. Eduardo patted his back in the only comfort he knew how. Finally, several long minutes later, the door opened slightly. Everyone immediately came to attention as Christopher walked outside. Nathan was up like a shot and practically ran over to him.

"What's going on? Is she alright?"

Christopher sighed and nodded gravely as he closed the door behind him. He grabbed Nathan's shoulder and led him down the hall, out of earshot of the curious bystanders. The rest of the guys inched forward, but with Christopher's glare, they backed away and waited for their time. Christopher took Nathan around the corner and stood in front of Nathan, who was now even more worried than he had been before.

"Is she alright?" Nathan repeated anxiously.

"She's alright now. But man there's something I have to tell you, because you're going to need to approach this one with care."

"Yeah, what? What is it?"

"I'm going to tell you this, but you have got to keep it together, for her sake at least."

"Christopher, you're scaring me man. What's wrong with my wife?"

"Molly, she… Nathan she was pregnant."

"She's … pregnant?" Nathan sputtered.

Christopher nodded his head gravely and held Nathan's arm with his hand. "No, no Nathan. She _was_ pregnant. She's not anymore I'm afraid."

Nathan felt as if his heart had stopped, and he had to hold onto Christopher for support. "She… she… she what?"

"The stress and everything from today caused her to have a miscarriage. I'm so sorry man."

It took Nathan a long while before he could reply again. "I… I had… I had no idea… Did she know?"

Christopher shook his head solemnly. "No, no she didn't know either. She just found out herself."

Nathan closed his eyes and continued to hold onto Christopher for support. Sure they had talked about having children at some point, but they hadn't planned on starting for another year or so. He felt an ache deep in his chest as he thought of what could have been, along with a stab of pure rage thinking of what had happened to her. He couldn't even imagine how she felt at that moment. Nathan felt something he'd never experienced before, and about something he didn't even realize he'd wanted until that moment. A sudden sense of loss and emptiness that he couldn't quite describe took over. God, poor Molly. Nathan's heart ached even harder as he thought of his poor wife in the other room.

"But she's alright?"

"Yeah, she's alright now. She couldn't have been more than a month in, so it didn't damage anything."

"Can… can I see her?" Nathan whispered, standing up straight as he composed himself the best he could.

Christopher nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah, yeah of course man. Go on in. Do you want me to tell the guys?"

"What did she say to tell them?"

"She said to go ahead and tell them unless you opposed it."

Nathan nodded quietly and took a deep breath. "Go ahead."

He walked back around the corner and completely ignored the curious gazes of the guys as he walked directly into the room, closing the door behind him. Molly sat on the doctors table, she wore a paper thin hospital gown as her feet dangled over the edges. Her gaze was directed at the ground as he slowly walked over to her and stood in front of her. She looked up and wetly smiled at him. She'd obviously been crying, her eyes were still red and puffy, but she'd wiped away the tears. Knowing her, she'd probably done it so as not to upset Nathan, and that alone made him fight desperately with his own tears.

"Hi Nate." She whispered, trying so hard to keep a smile on her face. The look on her face just about broke his heart.

"Hi honey." Without a word, he gathered her in his arms and placed her in his lap as they sat down in the chair.

"I… I didn't know…" She whispered, grabbing his shirt.

"I know sweetheart. I know." He replied quietly, his voice hitched as he tried to calm her, rocking her against him gently. Nathan held her tightly to his chest not because he was afraid she'd break, but because he was afraid that he would.

"We'd talked about having one before but I never thought…"

"I know we did… I know."

"I'm… I'm so sorry." She choked out before she let out a quiet sob against his chest, clenching his shirt in her fists.

He tilted her head up to look at him. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about."

"But…"

"But nothing. I love you. You hear me? God, I love you so much. You know that?"

She cracked a smile for the first time. "Yeah, I do. I love you too."

"As horrible as this is, these things just happen sweetheart. I know how unfair this has to be for you right now, I can't even imagine, and I'd do anything for you to make it all better."

"I didn't think I'd want to have one so soon, but now…"

"Then by gods we can keep trying until we do have one." He replied without hesitation, and to Nathan's own surprise, he truly meant it.

Her eyes softened as she looked up at him. "You want to try to have one?"

He smiled down at her and kissed her nose gently. "Yeah. Yeah I do. Only if they'll have your beautiful eyes and that kindness in you that I love so much."

She reached up and pressed her lips against his tenderly. "I hope they have your smile. Your sense of humor too, they _have_ to have that." They sat together for a long time, holding one another.

"Well we might need to get another place before we do start trying though," She said, smiling at him, "I don't think a baby would like a charred house very much."

Despite himself, Nathan smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, we might have to get a new house."

A knock came from the door and Nathan looked over at the door then back at Molly. She nodded her head and Nathan called out for the guys to enter. Russell shyly walked in first, followed by Eduardo and Thomas as they came into the room. They remained quiet as they stood staring at the two as they held each other, Morgan and Christopher filing in last behind the other three men.

"You guys can stay with us tonight until we all figure out what we need to do." Eduardo said quietly, keeping his gaze to the ground as if he were afraid that his gaze would cause Molly to crumble to pieces.

"We'd like that, thank you Eduardo."

The guys stood awkwardly at the door for what seemed liked several long moments, none knowing exactly the right words to say. There really weren't any right words to say at a time like this, but they were all too afraid of breaking what little control Molly had left on her emotions.

Molly squeezed Nathan's hand as she looked up at all of them and smiled. "Please don't worry about me, I'm fine. Now, what did you guys decide we were going to do?"

The group exchanged looks before Morgan stepped forward. "We're going with my original plan, especially now."

Molly nodded. "I liked your plan."


End file.
